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The Internet: A Blessing & A Curse

The internet makes a lot of things possible. It is able to bring you the world at your fingertips – literally. You can find practically anything on the internet like people from your past, bringing a new person into your life, practically anything you can think of purchasing and an unmeasurable amount of information.

The internet is a great resource for lots of things. You looking for somebody? Before you would have to look in a phone book or go to their old neighborhood and knock on doors or ask mutual friends. If you wanted to buy something, you would have to physically go to the store to buy it and pick it up or schedule a delivery. If you wanted information, you had to look in a dictionary, a thesaurus or an encyclopedia (or some other sort of book.) School?! you had to go there; it’s a big building with lots of rooms and desks and chairs, where kids go to learn and socialize. Job? you had to grind for that; going from place to place giving your resume out.

Now, all you need to do it press a few buttons and all of these resources are in the same place. I can not imagine my life without the internet now (I mean, that’s how I am able to connect with you guys) but I do know I had a life before the internet and how much life has changed because of it. Looking for someone? Finding them is easy on the internet! Whether it’s through social networks, search engines or companies that sell access to your contact information. Meeting a stranger is mainly achieved through social networking. If you’re in another city or on another continent, we can communicate on an almost constant basis, you can even video chat. You can purchase ANYTHING over the internet and have it delivered straight to your door. Information is supplied all over the internet from published works to made up rumors. Home school is now offered over the internet for grades Kindergarten through 12th grade. Applying for almost any job requires the use of internet.

These things all seem harmless. But think about it, the internet is giving us an excuse to be antisocial or too social. I remember when I used to stay out late as a kid, about 13 years old (late meant 8:30-9 pm in the summer time.) Would be in the park, talking crap or running around playing manhunt. Now kids just want to play on cell phones and tablets or watch TV (this last one is not the Internet’s fault.) On the flip side, you have people pretending to be other people and hiding behind an image, they are able to do this with the power of the internet. Think about it, ever seen Catfish?! I was watching that movie thinking, “This dude is an idiot!” and the sad part is, it happens to ordinary people everyday. I remember having to go to stores searching for what I was looking for. Now I can get exactly what I am looking for within minutes, without setting a foot on the floor. My experience with school was fun, there was not much of this bullying nonsense that goes on now, someone picked on you, you did the same thing back. There were not so many insecurities at such a young age. So now there is schooling offered form Kindergarten to Masters Degrees, via the internet. Growing up, the pedophiles had to come gawk at children in public, where they could be seen and embarrassed. Now they can satisfy themselves from the comfort of their homes. When I was young, you would have to beep me and wait for me to call you back. Now you we can FaceTime and you can see me and my surroundings in present time. Jobs required a hand written application and printed resume. Now you complete an application online and upload your resume. Wow, how things have changed.

The internet is a dangerous place, not just for segregating us but for victimizing us. People use it to prey on others. The internet is a liar, it plays on people’s insecurities, it hypes things up, it humiliates and it isolates. The power the internet has is amazing. I used to spread rumors and make people feel like crap with the things I would say about them or their appearance. Doing things like this when I was younger helped me learned from my mistakes and saw that nothing positive came of these things. So I made it my business not to continue to do things that made ME feel negative. I think I felt worse doing it, than I was trying to make the person feel. Just imagine, that was with a small audience. Now, the world is the audience. People are taking their own lives over nonsense on the internet.

If you really think about it, we give the internet its power. If we didn’t do so much online, the internet would not be as important as it is. Just something to think about.